Harry Reid: “let me just say that I have already stated in my remarks the great admiration I have for the distinguished chair of this…”

“let me just say that I have already stated in my remarks the great admiration I have for the distinguished chair of this committee. He is a good man, a good Senator, but I certainly disagree with the statements he made that this matter was not brought before the committee in the form of an amendment. I have not been here as long as the Senator from Indiana but I have been here quite a while, and I understand that not all Senators have the opportunity, if they do not serve on a committee, to offer amendments. I know Senator Biden and Senator Lugar do the best they can to bring a bill they think is responsible before the Senate. But had I been on the committee--which I am not--I would have offered an amendment such as this. I do not think there is a higher priority we have, not only from our security interests but from the simple merit of any proposal, than this one right here. I think it is very important that we recognize Mexico. I am now one of the senior members of the Appropriations Committee, and I do not quite understand why we are being so frugal with Mexico. We are not so frugal with other countries. I think Mexico deserves this. I ask Members of the Senate to understand there is no budget point of order against what I am doing. If this were an appropriations bill or had some budget implications other than that, that might be the case, but Senators can vote for this amendment.”